He came home to join the class of 1989 celebrate memories and accomplishments since leaving Milwaukee Tech 25 years ago. The North Carolina man barely lived through it.

"Not everyone gets shot in the face and walks away from it, and I can't tell you how much that sits on my heart and soul," Claudiare Motley said.

Motley dropped off his best friend near 63rd Street and Capitol Drive after a reunion event when two cars pulled up.

"Next thing I know, somebody was tapping at the window with a gun," Motley said.

"And you thought, 'I'm not getting out of this car?'" Henry asked.

"I'm not getting out of this car," Motley said. "The first thing I did was to push the gas and to take off, and as I was leaving, the guy shot me in my jaw."

Motley hit the gas and rammed the car ahead of him so he could get out of the way and drove himself to the emergency room at St. Joe's Hospital

Now Motley faces reconstructive surgery. He's a husband, a father, an international business consultant and two classes away from a law degree. He knows how lucky he is.

"I was blessed because of how the bullet traveled. I was blessed that I was able to keep my senses, and I'm blessed to be right here now to tell people that this type of violence is senseless," Motley said.

Motley follows the news in Milwaukee.

"Violence is just a byproduct of what the true issues are," he said.

He said police alone can't solve the recent spike in violence, it's a community problem that's made for a bitter homecoming.